According to the reigning king of mayors, there is a cool trophy that recognizes the title. Unfortunately, Calgary's Naheed Nenshi doesn't have his yet, and consequently has little to offer as proof that in early February, on his 43rd birthday no less, it was announced he was the recipient of the World Mayor Prize.
He's been assured that the trophy will arrive later this year. "I'm told it's quite beautiful," Mr. Nenshi said in an office interview. In the meantime, he has the tiara his fellow Canadian big-city mayors presented him with at a meeting they were attending when news broke about his special recognition.
The Calgary mayor is appropriately modest about the title, which he gets to boast about for two years before the next winner is chosen by the international research group that hands out the award. These selections are always somewhat random, and become popularity contests to a certain degree, but the individuals chosen are ultimately deserving and have distinguished themselves on multiple fronts.
The committee making the decision often must sift through hundreds of letters of commendation from citizens. Mr. Nenshi got to read some of the ones written about him; he was deeply touched.
It's been noted that the perception of the power Mr. Nenshi actually wields becomes greater the farther he travels from home. This is a reference to the sometimes difficult job he's had getting matters that are priorities to him passed by council. This was certainly the case in his first term, although less so in his second. He agrees, however, that he has had zero success influencing council to vote for one of his biggest pet issues – secondary suites.
"That's democracy," he says. "I keep trying."
He didn't help his relationship with council when he suggested earlier this year that some members were getting "blotto" at public events. The resulting contretemps created bad feelings that linger today. "But we still have lunch together," the mayor smiles. "Just no wine." He ignored several demands to apologize, even though it might have helped repair relations around the council table. He admits that he can be stubborn.
"People seem to be obsessed with whether we're all getting along or not," says the mayor. "Quite frankly, it doesn't matter."
These days, Mr. Nenshi is bracing for the fallout from oil's plunge. It hasn't hit yet, but he knows it's coming. He's been outspoken about his concerns that the Ottawa and Alberta governments, obsessed with debt and balanced budgets, will cut back on their capital spending contributions. Calgary has lots of needs, from transit to schools.
Increasingly, the mayor has strayed beyond strict municipal issues to offer his views on subjects that are more traditionally the domain of federal and provincial politicians. Is this a sign of expanding ambitions?
Asked to offer his opinion on whether a sales tax would be a good thing for Alberta, he ignores the pleas from a communication adviser sitting nearby to avoid the topic. "I can handle this, thank you," he smiles at the aide. Then the former business professor goes on to say that there are other ways to fix the province's revenue gap without a sales tax.
"I've never agreed with the view that consumption taxes are inherently fairer than others," he says.
In person, Mr. Nenshi is difficult not to like. He's a gregarious workaholic who has an adoring following on Twitter. Some suggest that the constant love and affection feeds an increasingly bloated ego. He's been called acerbic. His critics say he has an air of intellectual superiority. But few can question his passion.
There is constant speculation about his future. Many expect he will decline to seek a third term. Some hope he'll agree to become the face of some centrist alternative on the provincial scene, such as the Alberta Party. The Progressives Conservatives won't govern forever – well, maybe they will. But there are those who believe, myself included, that the party that will ultimately take the Conservatives down will be a progressive, middle-of-the-road coalition, not Wildrose 2.0.
Who knows whether building that sort of political vehicle will interest Mr. Nenshi. For now, he's content to be the best mayor in the world. And soon he'll have the trophy to prove it.
Gary Mason